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Mary O’Hara writes: “On September 21–27, for the 32nd year in a row, Banned Books Week was marked across the US. Spearheaded by the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, it aims to counterbalance perennial challenges to the content of books and efforts to get them banned, usually in schools and libraries. A new worry is the rise in efforts to get books banned that cover poverty and social class. At a time when rising inequality and the demonization of poorer people (both in the US and the UK) is commonplace, such attempts to remove books that depict the reality of life for people who are struggling should concern us all.”...
The Guardian (UK), Oct. 21
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On October 27, ALA will host “$2.2 Billion Reasons to Pay Attention to WIOA,” an interactive webinar that will explore ways that public and community college libraries can receive funding for employment skills training and job search assistance from the recently passed Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. The no-cost webinar, which includes speakers from the US Departments of Education and Labor, will take place at 2–3 p.m. Eastern time....
District Dispatch, Oct. 20
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Margaret Heller writes: “Librarians should have a role in promoting open access content. The best methods and whether they are successful is a matter of heated debate. Take, for example, an October 9 post by Micah Vandegrift on the ACRL Scholarly Communications discussion list, calling on librarians to stage a publishing walkout and only publish in open access library and information science journals. Many have already done so. Others, like myself, have published in traditional journals (only once in my case) but make a point of making their work available in institutional repositories.” Barbara Fister has more to say about open access....
ACRL TechConnect, Oct. 23; Inside Higher Ed: Library Babel Fish, Oct. 22
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On October 22, US Representatives Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) and Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) and several of Ohio’s public library leaders participated in a roundtable discussion of “Public Libraries in a Digital World” hosted by the Ohio Library Council at the OCLC headquarters in Dublin. The discussion focused on ways in which public libraries serve citizens across Ohio, how to expand information and services offered, and some innovative ways lawmakers can advocate on behalf of Ohio’s public libraries to provide increased opportunities for education and growth....
Ohio Library Council, Oct. 23
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What happened to Islamic reform? Why have al Qaeda and Boko Haram become the faces of contemporary Islam? Why has the Arab Spring devolved into a battle over sharia law? Award-winning human rights activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali believes that ordinary Muslims throughout the world want wholesale change—contrary to conventional wisdom in the West. As 2015 Arthur Curley Memorial lecturer at the ALA Midwinter Meeting, she will speak about these and other ideas on January 31 in McCormick Place, Chicago....
Conference Services, Oct. 21
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Bonnie Cha writes: “OverDrive provides access to about 16,000 libraries and 10,000 school libraries in the US. In addition to ebooks, the service also lets you borrow audiobooks and streaming video. Overall, I liked it, and plan to continue using it, since buying books—physical or digital—gets costly. It also offers a broader selection of titles compared to paid ebook subscription services like Oyster and Scribd, and doesn’t limit you to one loan per month like Amazon Prime does for Kindle users.”...
Re/code, Oct. 23
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Rebecca K. Sharp writes: “Was your ancestor a drayman (cart driver), a hod carrier (a laborer who carried supplies to stone masons or bricklayers), a huckster (peddler), an ostler (a groom or stable hand), or a spinster (an unmarried woman)? Discover the answers to these questions and much more through genealogical research. Whether you are beginning your research or are an experienced genealogist, tune in to the National Archives and Records Administration’s free online Virtual Genealogy Fair, October 28–30.”...
Prologue: Pieces of History, Oct. 22
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Joel Santo Domingo writes: “What kind of PC will it take to run so-called ‘high-end 3D games?’ If you have deep pockets, your answer could be a custom-built hot rod from elite boutique PC manufacturers such as Alienware, Falcon Northwest, Maingear, or MSI. If you’re not made of money, a couple of well-informed choices will go a long way toward helping you get the right gaming desktop or laptop, even if it’s from a standard PC vendor. The most pivotal gaming decision you’ll make is which 3D graphics subsystem to use.” Read reviews of the top 10 desktops for gaming....
PC Magazine, Oct. 22–23
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Karl Suhr writes: “Animated GIFs are a series of GIF files saved as one large file. Animated GIFs provide short animations that typically repeat as long as the GIF is displayed. These images can easily be adapted for information literacy and library instruction, allowing for a birds-eye view of all the steps of a process, and viewing and reviewing steps as needed without having to rewind or replay an entire video. The raw materials for creating the GIFs can consist of video footage recorded on an iPhone, video screen capture, and still images.”...
In the Library with the Lead Pipe, Oct. 22
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